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Connolly, J. (2006). The book of lost things. New York, NY: Atria Books. ISBN 0-7432-9885-3

Award: Alex Awards

Summary: Young David, living in London during WWII, loses his mother at the beginning of the book and his father remarries and has another child very quickly. David retreats into his books, finding special connections to fairy tales. He begins seeing a man in a crooked hat lurking in his house and dreams and suspects that he is in danger. One night, after a German bomber crashes in his back yard and David crosses through a hole in the garden and is in a fairy tale world. David must make it through the dangerous land to find the king who has the "book of lost things" so he can return home.

What I liked: I loved the connections in the book to Grimm's Fairy Tales, which I used to read a lot when I was a child. The author twisted the tales to make them suit the story and it made them more interesting and new.

Genre: Fiction

Curriculum Connection:
Grade Level: 11-12

CC.11-12.L.4 Vocabulary Acquisition and Use: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 11–12 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

KY.11-12.R.D.SC.7 Students will make comparisons and synthesize information within and across texts (e.g., comparing themes, ideas, concept development, literary elements, events, genres)

KY.11-12.R.R.SC.1 Students will use comprehension strategies while reading, listening to, or viewing literary and informational texts to analyze and evaluate content or make connections.

Classroom Activity: Strategy 15- Jots and Doodles
This book has wonderful imagery, especially in the fairy tale excerpts. While reading specific chapters, the teacher could have students doodle, take notes, write questions and write down new vocabulary words while reading. Students should have no problem creating images because they should have some sort of relation to the fairy tales, even if they are changed slightly. After reading the chapter, the teacher can have students show their doodles using the document camera connected to a SmartBoard and explain why they drew the image and how it helped them understand the reading. Students can discuss questions and new vocabulary words in small group discussions. This strategy would be great for ELL students or students with poor reading skills because it uses images to help students understand the text.